Dual function fuzes



Nov. 15, 1966 A. M. LOHMANN 3,285,177

DUAL FUNCTION FUZES Filed July 10, 1964 LAUNCH AND IMPACT SENSING DEVICEINVENTOR.

ARTHUR M. LOHMANN ATTORNEY United States Patent M 3,285,177 DUALFUNCTION FUZES Arthur M. Lohmann, Hopkins, Minn., assignor to HoneywellInc., Minneapolis, Minn, a corporation of Delaware Filed July 10, 1964,Ser. No. 381,725 9 Claims. Cl. 102-74 This invention relates generallyto a munition fuze having both delay and instantaneous detonating modes,and more particularly relates to a dual function fuze for use in a bombdropped from a low flying aircraft, to prevent damage to the aircraftfrom the bomb explosion.

With the advent of highly accurate radar controlled antiaircraftartillery systems, it has become increasily more dangerous for aircraftto bomb from high altitudes.

It has become i-mpertive, especilly in the combat area itself, toperform the bombing run at extremely low altitudes, both for accuracyreasons and for safety reasons.

A dangerous situation arises when a high speed aircraft flying atextremely low altitudes drop a high yield conventional weapon. The bombafter release tends to travel along with the aircraft at the same speeduntil it impacts with the ground. It can be seen that at these lowaltitudes, the bomb might well burst directly under the very aircraftthat released the bomb. The present fuzing system is designed to preventdamage to the aircraft during a low altitude bombing run.

Although the delay detonatin-g feature that allows the aircraft toescape the vicinity before detonation i important when the bomb isdelivered at low altitudes, it is not a desirable feature where the bombis dropped from a conventional high altitude position. This inventionprovides maximum efiectiveness under all conditions, consistent withsafety, by providing instantaneous detonation if the bomb is droppedabove a certain altitude but allowing a delay period between impact anddetonation if the bomb i dropped from below the safe altitude. Thesedual functions are automatically performed. No manual input or otherexternally supplied signal is required.

In the present fuze, a delay detonator and an instantaneous detonatorare carried by a rotor or carrier member. Under normal conditions, bothdetonators are out of line with a firing pin. Upon launch (first event)of the munition, the rotor is moved from the safe position to a secondposition with the delay detonator in line with the firing pin. The rotoris held in the second position for a period of time that is ofsufficient duration for the aircraft to escape the area beforedetonation occurs. If impact (second event) occurs during the time thatthe rotor is in the second position, the munition will detonate after aperiod of time determined by the delay detonator. After the delay periodhas occured without impact, the rotor is moved from the second positionto a third instantaneous detonating position with the instantaneousdetonator in line with the firing pin. If impact occurs with the rotorin the third position, the munition will explode immediately.

It therefore can be seen that if the bomb is dropped from below a safealtitude, the delay detonator will be in line with the firing pin whenimpact occurs. The delay detonator will not explode until the aircrafthas had time to escape the area. If, however, the bomb is dropped fromabove the safe altitude, the rotor will have reached the third positionand detonation will occur immediately upon impact.

It is therefore a primary purpose of the present invention to provide anautomatically operated dual function munition fuze.

Another object of the present invention is to provide both delay andinstantaneous operating modes in a muni- 3,285,177 Patented Nov. 15,1966 tion fuze that will prevent instantaneous detonation of the bombuntil a predetermined time has elapsed after launch.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a munition fuzethat will delay detonation of a bomb dropped from below a safe altitudeand will allow instantaneous detonation of a bomb dropped from above thesafe altitude.

Other objects of this invention will be apparent from the specificationand claims when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings,in which:

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of the fuze with the rotor in the safeposition;

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view of the fuze with the rotor in a second ordelay detonating position;

FIGURE 3 is a top plan view of the fuze with the rotor in a third orinstantaneous detonating position; and

FIGURE 4 is an isometric view of the fuze.

Referring now to the drawings, there is disclosed in FIGURE 1 a munitionfuze having a housing 10 of gen erally circular cross section. Rotatablymounted within housing 10 on an axis 12 is a rotor or carrier member 14.Motive power for driving rotor 14 about axi 12 is provided by a spiraldrive spring 16 that is connected to housing 10 by a pin 18 and to rotor14 by a pin 20.

As disclosed in FIGURE 4, rotor 14 is a right cylindrical section havinga top surface, a parallel bottom surface, and a peripheral edgeconnecting the two surfaces. Extending from the edge of rotor 14 is alug or stop member 22. Extending from the inner surface of housing 10 isa corresponding stop member 24 that lies in line with lug 22 to preventrotation of rotor 14 beyond a certain point as disclosed in FIGURE 3.

The fuze is to be mounted in a projectile or bomb so that the topsection as disclosed in FIGURES 1-3 would lie perpendicular to thelongitudinal axis of the projectile. Arrow 26 in FIGURE 4 discloses thedirection of flight of the projetcile in which the subject fuze ismounted.

A fiat spring member 28 is mounted within housing 10 to lie parallel tothe upper surface of rotor 14. Spring member 28 is connected at one endto housing 10 and is normally biased to the position disclosed in FIGURE4. Mounted on the lower surface of spring member 28 are a pair of hookedor barbed firing pins 30 and 32 and a stop pin 34. As shown in phantomin FIGURE 1, stop pin 34 lies in line with lug 22 with rotor 14 in thesafe position to prevent movement of the rotor. Spring member 28 isflexible and is movable from the position shown in FIGURE 4 to aposition in which the lower sur-. face lies directly against the uppersurface of rotor 14.

Formed within the upper surface of rotor 14 are a pair of short annulargrooves 36 and 38. Both grooves are of suflicient length to accommodateboth firing pins. Mounted within groove 38 is a coil spring 40, thepurpose of which is to engage and lock the barbed firing pins if springmember 28 is forced against the top surface of rotor 14 when either oneor both of the firing pins are in line with groove 38. The purpose forand the full correlation between the hooked firing pins and the coiledspring mounted in groove 38 are fully explained in my copendingapplication Serial NO. 1, 9 filed July 1, 1963, now Patent No.3,157,125.

Also mounted in the upper surface of rotor 14 is a delay detonator 42,an open cup 44, and an instantaneous detonator 46. Delay detonator 42will provide a set time delay between the time it is struck by a firingpin and the time it explodes. Detonator 46 will explode immediately uponbeing struck by a firing pin.

Mounted in the upper portion of housing 10 above flexible member 28 is alaunch and impact sensing device 48 (shown schematically). Althoughdevice 48 is essential for operation of the fuze, the specific structureis only of incidental importance and is thus not disclosed in detail.The same structure as that disclosed in my previously mentionedcopending application could be utilized. To detect launch of themunition for example, a bore riding safety pin could be used. Theprinciple of a bore riding safety pin is explained in the WoodberryPatent 2,118,062 that issued May 24, 1938. Setback operated devicescould also be utilized to detect launch, and in the case of rotatingmunitions, a centrifugally operated mechanism could be used. TheWoodberry patent also discloses means for detecting impact that could beutilized in this invention. Various other devices are available in thefuzing art for detecting a first event (in this case launch) and asecond event (in this case impact).

Formed on a portion of the periphery of rotor 14 adjacent the lowersurface thereof is a gear segment 50. Mounted adjacent rotor 14 inhousing is a corresponding gear wheel 52. Gear wheel 52 meshes with gearsegment 50 to regulate the speed of rotation of rotor 14.

Gear wheel 52 is mounted on a shaft 54 and is driven by a helical torquespring 56. It is noted that rotor 14 is driven by spring 16 while gearwheel 52 is driven by spring 56. A second gear wheel 58 isconcentrically mounted with respect to wheel 52 on shaft 54. A standardescapement mechanism 60 as disclosed in FIGURE 1 coacts with gear wheel58 to regulate the speed of rotation of gear wheel 52 about shaft 54.

concentrically mounted on top of gear wheel 52 is a generallycylindrical cam member 62. Cam member 62 is of circular cross sectionand has an open top. Formed along a small arc of the upper edge of cammember 62 is a slot 64.

Mounted adjacent gear member 52 on a shaft 56 is a cam follower member68. Follower member 68 is mounted for limited movement about shaft 66and includes a first arm 70 and a second arm 72. The upper surface offollower member 68 is parallel with the upper surface of rotor 14, andshaft 66 is also parallel with axis 12.

In FIGURE 1 it can be seen that in a first position, first arm 70 liesadjacent the periphery of rotor 14. Second arm 72 lies adjacent theinner surface of cam member 62. Extending from the lower surface ofsecond arm 72 is a pin 74 that rides the inner surface of cam member 62.As shown in FIGURE 1, the fact that pin 74 rides the inner surface ofcam member 62 prevents counterclockwise movement of cam follower member68 about shaft 66.

In FIGURE 2, there is disclosed a curved tip of first arm 70 that liesin line with lug 22 to hold the rotor in the position shown in FIGURE 2.

A coil spring 76, connected between cam follower member 68 and housing10, provides a counterclockwise bias to cam follower member 68. InFIGURE 3, gear wheel 52 has been rotated by spring 56 to a position inwhich slot 64 lies in line with pin 74. With slot 64 in this position,coil spring 76 drives cam follower member 68 counterclockwise to asecond position so that firm arm 70 releases lug 22.

Operation Prior to launch the fuze is in the safe position shown inFIGURE 1. Rotor 14 is held in the safe position by stop pin 34 lying inthe path of lug 22. Firing pins 30 and 32 also tend to hold the rotor inthe safe position since they lie in groove 36. In some applications pin34 might not be required since the firing pins could hold the rotor inthe safe position by themselves. Pin 34 is thus an additional safetyfeature.

With rotor 14 in the safe position, the firing pins are out of line withdetonator 42 and detonator 46. If the bomb is mishandled or dropped withthe fuze in the safe position, no explosion will occur since the firingpin cannot contact either detonator, and the detonators are also outline with a lead cup (not shown) that is mounted in housing 10 beneathrotor 14. Even if a detonator should fire with the rotor in the safeposition, the explosion will not ignite the lead cup.

Upon launch or other first event, a bore riding safety pin or otherdevice (not shown) is actuated to release flexible spring member 28.Member 28 then moves to the position shown in FIGURE 4, releasing rotor14. Once spring member 23 is released, rotor 14 is free to rotate in aclockwise direction under the influence of drive spring 16. The speed atwhich rotor 14 moves is regulated by escapement member 60 sincesegmental gear 50 is meshed with gear wheel 52 during this initialperiod of rotation. The length of gear segment 50 and thecharacteristics of escapement system 60 determine the speed and durationof the retardation of rotor 14. After gear segment 50 passes through theteeth on gear wheel 52, rotor 14 snaps to the second or delay detonatingposition shown in FIGURE 2.

During the time that rotor 14 is moving from the safe position to thesecond position, groove 38 and coiled spring 40 lie beneath one or bothof the barbed firing pins. If impact of the fuze should occur duringthis initial period, at least one of the firing pins will penetratecoiled spring 40 to dud the fuze. This safety feature is fully describedin my previously mentioned copending application.

With the fuze in the second position as disclosed in FIGURE 2, an impactwill cause the impact sensing device to drive flexible member 28 againstrotor 14, thereby driving firing pin 30 into delay detonator 42. At thesame time, firing pin 32 is driven into coiled spring 40 to lock therotor in the second position. Delay detonator 42 will then initiate thedead cup (not shown) after a predetermined delay period.

Rotor 14 is held in the second position shown in FIGURE 2 by arm 70which lies in line with lug 22. At this time, gear wheel 52 is no longermeshed with gear segment 50. Gear wheel 52 continues to rotate in acounterclockwise direction, however, under the influence of helicalspring 56 at a rate determined by escapement mechanism 60. During this.period, the inner surface of cam member 62 prevents cam follower member68 from rotating in a counterclockwise direction since pin 74 liesagainst the inner surface. After a preset period of time, slot 64rotates to a position in line with pin 74, at which time coil spring 76drives cam follower member 68 in a counterclockwise direction to releaserotor 14. Rotor 14 then snaps virtually instantaneously to the third orinstantaneous detonating position disclosed in FIGURE 3.

In the third position, instantaneous detonator 46 is in line with firingpin 30, and cup 44 is in line with firing pin 32. When impact occurs,impact sensing device 48 will drive spring member 28 against rotor 14 toignite detonator 46.

In the preferred embodiment of the fuze, a time delay of two seconds isprovided between the time rotor 14 leaves the safe position and the timethe second position is reached. This two second delay is provided by theinteraction between gear segment 50 and gear wheel 52. If, during thistime, the fuze impacts, a firing pin will lock in coiled spring 40 todud the fuze.

After two seconds, rotor 14 reaches the second position shown in FIGURE2. Rotor 14 is maintained in this position for 3.5 seconds by first leg70 of cam follower member 68. An impact occurring between two secondsand 5.5 seconds after launch will thus drive firing pin 30 into delaydetonator 42. Delay detonator 42 provides an eight second delay betweenimpact and explosion. At this point firing pin 32 is locked in coiledspring 40 so that subsequent bouncing of the fuze will not causeinstantaneous detonation. It is noted that during 5.5 seconds, a bombwill fall approximately meters. Therefore, if the plane is flying at analtitude of less than 145 meters, the fuze will be in the secondposition upon impact. After impact an additional eight seconds delay isprovided; This allows sufiicient time for an aircraft to escape the areabefore the explosion of the bomb.

If the impact occurs over 5.5 seconds after launch, rotor 14 will havesnapped to the third position disclosed in FIGURE 3. This movementoccurs when pin 7 4 moves through slot 64 to allow first leg 70 torelease lug 22. Rotor 14 rotates until lug 22 snaps against stop member24. In this third position, instantaneous detonator 46 lies in linewhich firing pin 30. Upon impact, sensing device 48 drives firing pin 30int-o detonator 46 and firing pin 32 into cup 44. An instantaneousexplosion results. By the time the explosion occurs, the relatively highaltitude aircraft has departed a sufficient distance from the point ofimpact to prevent self-inflicted damage.

The basic teachings of this invention are usable in a wide variety ofspecific structures. The sequence of events involved in this inventionare first: releasing a rotor or other carrier member upon the occurrenceof a first event, in this case launch; second: moving the carrier memberto a second position in which a delay detonator lies in line with thefiring pin; third: retaining the carrier member in the second positionfor a predetermined period of time; and fourth: moving the carriermember to a third position after the expiration of the delay period, therotor in the third position having an instantaneous detonator in linewith the firing pin.

It is possible that the rotor safety lock including the barbed featureon the firing pins and the coiled spring 40 would not be required incertain applications. In that case, only one firing pin would be neededto initiate the detonators. In other cases it might be desirable tochange the time delay periods from those incorporated in the preferredembodiment. The timing periods will obviously depend upon the specificapplications towards which the fuze is directed.

The preferred embodiment of this invention discloses a carrier memberthat lies in line with the firing pin in both the safe and the armedpositions. It is apparent that the carrier member could be constructedsuch that it would not lie in line with the firing pin in the safeposition, and would move in line only after launch.

Neither should the invention be limited to a fuze in which the secondposition on the rotor is occupied by a delay detonator and the thirdposition occupied by an instantaneous detonator. The fuze could bedesigned such that each detonator would provide either a selected timedelay or an instantaneous detonation upon impact.

It should also be possible for those skilled in the art to design adifferent mechanical structure to provide the delay and holdingfunctions for the rotor. Generally speaking, a timing device is requiredto delay the movement of the rotor from the first to the second positionand another timing device is required to hold the rotor in the secondposition for a predetermined period of time. In this case, both timingdevices are incorporated into the same general structure. In somesituations, it might be preferable to have two completely independentmechanism to perform the two tasks.

In other applications, the movement from the safe to the second positionmight be instantaneous in which case the first delay mechanism would notbe required. The carrier member would thus snap from the safe to thesecond position upon launch, at which time the delay period would begin.

This invention can be incorporated into any munition fuze that utilizesa carrier member that moves from a safe position to further armedpositions under the influence of a driving means such as a spiralspring. It is not necessary that the carrier member be a circular r0 toras it may well be a simple slider having linear rather than rotationalmovement. Neither is the exact type of driving-means critical. Althougha spring is normally used, any driver capable of storing sufficientenergy to drive the carrier member would be considered an equivalentdriving means.

From the above description it will be apparent that I have invented anew and unique dual function fuze. Although the form of the inventiondescribed herein constitutes a preferred embodiment, it will beunderstood that changes may be made within the spirit of the inventionlimited only by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. An impact operated munition fuze having sequential delay andinstantaneous detonating modes, comprising: a housing; a rotor mountedwithin said housing and rotatable about a central axis from a safeposition through a delay detonating position to an instantaneousdetonating position; a spring member attached to said housing anddisposed adjacent said rotor; said spring member being biased away fromsaid rotor; first and second lbarbed firing pins mounted on said springmember generally equidistant from said central axis; said rotor having afirst annular groove formed therein in line with said firing pins insaid safe position; means including impact sensing means for holdingsaid firing pins in said first groove prior to launch of said munitionto prevent rotation of said rotor, for releasing said firing pins uponlaunch and for driving said firing pins into said rotor upon impact; adelay detonator mounted in said rotor in line with said first firing pinin said delay detonating position; an instantaneous detonator mounted insaid rotor in line with said first firing pin in said instantaneousdetonating position; said rotor having a cup formed therein in line withsaid second firing pin in said instantaneous detonating position;driving means mounted in said housing for rotating said rotor;mechanically driven time delay means mounted in said housing andengageable with said rotor to substantially delay the rotation thereoffrom said safe to said delay detonating position; a movable cam followermember mounted in said housing and having first and second arms thereon;a lug member formed on said rotor adjacent said first arm with saidrotor in said delay detonating position; said follower member having afirst position with said first arm engaging said lug memher to preventrotation of said rotor, and a second position with said first arm out ofengagement therewith; said time delay means having a cam surface thereonincluding a first raised portion and a second slotted portion; saidraised portion being positioned in line with said second arm for aperiod determined by the rate of movement of said time delay means tohold said follower member in said first position; said slotted portionbeing subsequently moved in line with said second arm to allow movementof said follower member to said second position; said rotor beingcompletely disengaged from said cam follower member and said time delaymeans during the substantially instantaneous movement thereof from saiddelay detonating to said instantaneous detonating position; said rotorhaving a second annular groove formed therein between said first grooveand said delay detonator; and a coiled spring 'mounted in said secondgroove to engage at least one of said barbed firing pins to lock saidrotor should impact occur prior to said rotor leaving said delaydetonating position.

2. An impact operated munition fuze having sequential delay andinstantaneous detonating modes, comprising: a housing; a rotor mountedwithin said housing and rotatable about a central axis from a firstposition through a second position to a third position; a movable memberattached to said housing and disposed adjacent said rotor; first andsecond barbed firing pins mounted on said movable member generallyequidistant from said central axis; said rotor having a first grooveformed therein in line with said firing pins in said first position;means including impact sensing means cooperating with said movablemember for holding said firing pins in said first groove prior to launchof said munition to prevent rotation of said rotor, for releasing saidfiring pins upon launch, and for driving said firing pins into saidrotor upon impact; a delay detonator mounted in said rotor in line withsaid first firing pin in said second positions; an instantaneousdetonator mounted in said rotor in line with said first firing pin insaid third position; said rotor having a cup formed therein in line withsaid second firing pin in said third position; driving means mounted insaid housing for rotating said rotor; mechanically driven time delaymeans mounted in said housing and engageable with said rotor tosubstantially delay the rotation thereof from said first to said secondposition; a cam follower member journalled for movement about a fixedpin mounted in said housing, and including first and second armsextending therefrom; a protruding stop member mounted on said rotoradjacent said first arm with said rotor in said second position; saidfollower member having a first position with said first arm engagingsaid stop member to prevent rotation of said rotor, and a secondposition with said first arm out of engagement therewith; said timedelay means having a cam surface thereon including a first raisedportion and a second slotted portion; said raised portion beingpositioned in line with said second arm for a period determined by therate of movement of said time delay means to hold said follower memberin said first position; said time delay means subsequently moving saidslotted portion in line with said second arm to allow movement of saidfollower member to said second position; said rotor being completelydisengaged from said cam follower member and said time delay meansduring the substantially instantaneous movement thereof from said secondto said third position; said rotor having a second annular groove formedtherein between said first groove and said delay detonator; and .acoiled spring mounted in said second groove to engage at least one ofsaid barbed firing pins to lock said rotor should impact occur prior tosaid rotor leaving said second position.

3. An impact operated fuze having sequential delay and instantaneousoperating modes, comprising: a housing; a rotor mounted in said housingand rotatable from a safe through a delay detonating to an instantaneousdetonating position; a spring member mounted in said housing adjacentsaid rotor; at least one barbed firing pin mounted on said springmember; said rotor having, a cup formed therein adjacent said firing pinin said safe position, a delay detonator mounted adjacent said firingpin in said delay detonating position, and an instantaneous detonatormounted therein adjacent said firing pin in said instantaneousdetonating position; means including impact sensing means for holdingsaid firing pin in said cup prior to launch of said munition to preventrotation of said rotor, for releasing said firing pin upon launch, andfor driving said firing pin into said rotor upon impact; mechanicallydriven time delay means mounted in said housing and engageable with saidrotor to substantially delay the movement thereof from said safe to saiddelay detonating position, and to hold said rotor in said delaydetonating position for a predetermined period of time; means fordriving said rotor from said delay to said instantaneous detonatingposition; and firing pin engaging means mounted in said rotor betweensaid cup and said delay detonator to engage said firing pin upon impactto lock said rotor.

4. An impact operated munition fuze having both delay and instantaneousoperating modes, comprising: a housing; a rotor mounted in said housing,and rotatable between a first safe position, a second delay detonatingposition and a third instantaneous detonating position; a flexiblemember, having a firing pin mounted thereon, extending from said housingadjacent said rotor; means for holding said rotor in said safe positionand for releasing said rotor upon launch of said munition, driving meansfor rotating said rotor; impact sensing means for driving said firingpin into said rotor upon sensing an imact; a delay detonator mounted insaid rotor in line with said firing pin in said second position; aninstantaneous detonator mounted in said rotor in line with said firingpin in said third position; and timing means mounted in said housing andengageable 'with said rotor for holding said rotor in said secondposition for a predetermined period of time.

5. An impact operated fuze having sequential delay and instantaneousoperating modes, comprising: a housing; a carrier member mounted in saidhousing and movable from a safe through a delay detonating to aninstantaneous detonating position; a flexible member mounted in saidhousing adjacent said rotor; at least one barbed firing pin mounted onsaid flexible member; said carrier member having a cup formed thereinadjacent said firing pin in said safe position, a delay detonatormounted therein adjacent said firing pin in said delay detonatingposition, and an instantaneous detonator mounted therein adjacent saidfiring pin in said instantaneous detonating position; means includingimpact sensing means for holding said firing pin in said cup prior tolaunch of said munition to prevent movement of said carrier member, forreleasing said firing pin upon launch, and for driving said firing pininto said carrier member upon impact; time delay means mounted in saidhousing and engageable with said carrier member to substantially delaythe movement thereof from said safe to said delay detonating position,and to hold said carrier member in said delay detonating position forpredetermined period of time; means for driving said carrier member fromsaid delay to said instantaneous detonating position; and firing pinengaging means mounted in said carrier member between said cup and saiddelay detonator to engage said firing pin upon impact to lock saidcarrier member.

6. A munitions fuze subject to setback and impact forces, including: aresiliently mounted barbed firing pin; a movable carrier member having afirst area thereon opposite said firing pin in a safe position, a secondarea thereon opposite said firing pin in a delay detonating posi-- tion,and a third area thereon opposite said firing pin in an instantaneousdetonating position; means for normally holding said carrier member insaid safe position and for releasing said carrier member upon theoccurrence of said setback force; means for driving said carrier memberupon being released; a delay detonator mounted in said carrier member atsaid second area; an instantaneous detonator mounted in said carriermember at said third area; means for driving said firing pin into saidcarrier member upon the receipt of said impact force; means engageablewith said carrier member to substantially delay the movement thereoffrom said safe to said delay detonating position and for holding saidcarrier member in said delay detonating position for a timed period; andfiring pin engaging means mounted in said carrier member between saidfirst area and said second area to engage said firing pin and lock saidcarrier member should said impact occur prior to said carrier reachingsaid delay detonating position.

7. A munition fuze having both delay and instantaneous operating modes,comprising: a housing; a carrier member mounted in said housing, andmovable between a first safe position, a second delay detonatingposition and a third instantaneous detonating position; a flexiblemember, having a firing pin mounted thereon, extending from said housingadjacent said carrier member; means for holding said carrier member insaid safe position and for releasing said carrier member upon theoccurrence of a first event; means for driving said firing pin into saidcarrier member upon sensing a second event; a delay detonator mounted insaid carrier member in line with said firing pin in said secondposition; an instantaneous detonator mounted in said carrier member inline with said firing pin in said third position; means for moving saidcarrier member; and means for holding said carrier member in said secondposition for a predetermined period of time to interrupt the movementthereof from said first to said third position.

8. A munition fuze subject to first and second events, comprising: aresiliently mounted firing pin; a movable carrier member having a firstarea thereon in line with said firing pin in a safe position, a secondarea thereon in line with said firing pin in a second position, and athird area thereon in line With said firing pin in .a third position;means for normally holding said carrier member in said safe position andfor releasing said carrier member upon the occurrence of said firstevent; means for driving said carrier member from said safe through saidsecond to said third position upon being released; means engageable withsaid carrier member for holding said carrier member in said secondposition for a predetermined period of time; delay detonating meansmounted in said second area; instantaneous detonating means mounted insaid third area; and means for driving said firing pin into said carriermember upon the occurrence of said second event.

9. A munition fuze subject to first and second events, comprising: ahousing; a firing pin movably mounted in said housing; a carrier membermounted in said housing having first and second detonators mountedtherein; said detonators being out of line with said firing pin prior tothe occurrence of said first and second events; means for aligning saidfirst detonator with said firing pin upon the occurrence of said firstevent; means for thereafter holding said first detonator aligned withsaid firing pin for a preselected time period; means for aligning saidsecond detonator with said firing pin upon the termination of said timeperiod; and means for driving said firing pin into said carrier memberupon the occurrence of said second event.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,483,555 10/1949 Nichols 10274 2,664,822 1/1954 Hale 10274 3,157,125 11/1964 Lohmann10284 X FOREIGN PATENTS 303,418 3/1930 Great Britain.

BENJAMIN A. BORCHELT, Primary Examiner.

G. H. GLANZMAN, Assistant Examiner.

9. A MUNITION FUZE SUBJECT TO FIRST AND SECOND EVENTS, COMPRISING: AHOUSING; A FIRING PIN MOVABLY MOUNTED IN SAID HOUSING; A CARRIER MEMBERMOUNTED IN SAID HOUSING HAVING FIRST AND SECOND DETONATORS MOUNTEDTHEREIN; SAID DETONATORS BEING OUT OF LINE WITH SAID FIRING PIN PRIOR TOTHE OCCURRENCE OF SAID FIRST AND SECOND EVENTS; MEANS FOR ALIGNING SAIDFIRST DETONATOR WITH SAID FIRING PIN UPON THE OCCURRENCE OF SAID FIRSTEVENT; MEANS FOR THEREAFTER HOLDING SAID FIRST DETONATOR ALIGNED WITHSAID FIRING PIN FOR A PRESELECTED TIME PERIOD; MEANS FOR ALIGNING SAIDSECOND DETONATOR WITH SAID FIRING PIN UPON THE TERMINATION OF SAID TIMEPERIOD; AND MEANS FOR DRIVING SAID FIRING PIN INTO SAID CARRIER MEMBERUPON THE OCCURRENCE OF SAID SECOND EVENT.